NEPOčIN

The style is very close to the Hard Rock style of Drugi Nacin, featuring exactly the same instrumentation, it sounds just a bit more progressive at moments due to the more active role of keyboardist Damir Sebetic.Of course the album was entirely composed by Kurtovic and Mekic, so the music is fairly guitar-driven with many twin guitar leads and extended angular riffs with background keyboards and occasional flute drives in the vein of JETHRO TULL.Very energetic stuff with plenty of energy and accesible tunes in a Classic Rock vein with a hard edge.But there are certain tracks, which flirt intensely with Prog Rock, for example ''Stopa za stopom'' sounds like a cross between TAKO, DEEP PURPLE and FOCUS, containing big symphonic organs and synths next to a tiny flute theme, as the guitar work has a JAN AKKERMAN-like vibe and the track is flavored by even some screaming vocals.Or you should listen to the very poetic ''Cekati moj hit'' with its strong Classical content, the spacey synths and the almost GENESIS-like flute parts over a soft lyrical atmosphere.''Beskrajna tama noci'' is yet another winner, this time somewhere in the middle between Psych Rock and Fusion with electric piano, melodic vocals, ambiental flute lines and mellow electric guitar.

The same year Nepocin disbanded and apparently followed opposite paths to Drugi Nacin, which were reformed upon the arrival of Branko Pozgajec.Ironically Ilic became a member of the band some 15 years later, while drummer Branko Knezevic-Kneza became a member of Aerodrom.

Twin-guitar Hard Rock/Prog with touches of symphonic, psychedelic and Jazz Music.Dynamic and competent material, which comes warmly recommended.

Nepocin were a Yugo-rock side project that grew out of a break in the career of Drugi Nacin, of which two members Kurtovic and Mekic hail. The album was released in '77 a couple years after the Drugi Nacin debut and you can hear a subtle difference. Nepocin is a bit more varied and ambitious in composition while still maintaining a bit of the Drugi sound. I miss Mikulcic's stellar bass playing from Drugi but what is gained helps to offset the loss. The drumming and keyboards are both better on Nepocin, the percussion fills more nimble and the keys more spacious and interesting. The vocals have been toned down a bit too which is a nice change for those not fans of the dish-breaking falsettos. There are some here but not as annoyingly warbly or frequent. The material and performances are both a marginal improvement as they seem intent on taking more chances here. The long piece in the set is "Cekati Moj Hit" at 7 minutes. It begins with acoustic guitar, flute, and soft vocals before the organ and vocal explode. In comes some spacey synths and then some good trippy electric leads. There is a long drawn out flute section that is pretty nice, backed by a plodding rhythm giving the impression of a journey taking place. I still can't recommend this much beyond fans of 70s hard rock and rate it about the same as Drugi Nacin. Though I prefer this album just a little over Drugi it is still pretty one dimensional and average. I would agree with others that if you enjoy Purple, Heep, and New Trolls, there is a fair chance you will appreciate this. And the album cover is really fantastic when you fold out the whole thing. Almost 3 stars but not quite.

Music of Nepočin is arguably more prog-oriented, although the opening number, "Rock Pajac/Rock Clown" is pure rock, with some nice guitar riffing. It is a satire on the popularity that rock frontmen enjoy in the modern world. The title track is the first taste of prog we get here, with a typical prog intro which works well as well as the closing solo. "Stopa za stopom/Step by Step" is one of the highlights of the album with some terrific instrumental parts, specially at the end. "Novi dan/New Day" and "Čekati moj hit" are the only songs which Halil Mekić contributed to, co-writing the music to the first with Kurtovic and the second all by himself. Both are good, but the second is longer and more prog-like, with a very nice and long flute solo which finishes the song. I wonder what became of this guy. He certainly displayed a sense for writing meaningful and melodic music here. Therefore these songs, as well as the entire album, count as his swan song.

The lovely ballad "Beskrajna tama noći" also counts among the highlights here, while the two last songs are average. But overall, this is a truly satisfying and intriguing work by Kurtović, Mekić and co. What keeps it from being an absolute classic are the vocals, they are too high and pretentious-sounding. Lyrics also tend to be over-ambitious, but the whole project was meant to be very ambitious. Anyway, this is a treasure for any devoted Kurtovic/Drugi Način fan and collector, while people who are not acquainted to pompous and ambitious prog rock will not appreciate it much.